Nov 12, 2008

Sun2surf | ... He refuted claims that police were disrespectful to the national anthem when they moved in on participants of a candlelight vigil as the group was singing the Negaraku opposite the PJ Civic Centre.

He instead accused the protesters of abusing the sanctity of the Negaraku for making use of it to evade action.

"The members of the group sang the Negaraku about three or four times, each time police told them to disperse at the Jalan Timur field and at each place, they regrouped. They were using it to keep us at bay but we had acted within the law. How can I disrespect the Negaraku?

"I am an officer of the Royal Malaysian Police Force and I will be among the first to give honour to the national anthem. But in the best interest of security and order and to keep it in place, the police are empowered to evaluate the situation and act accordingly," said Khalid.

He explained that he did not hear the anthem being sung when his men moved in to disperse the crowd which had violated the law by taking part in an illegal assembly.... selanjutnya.